United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

In Jordan, UN Women implemented a program to enhance Syrian Women’s Empowerment in Camp Settings. Within the framework of the Jordan Response Plan to the Syria Crisis 2016-18, UN Women operates safe spaces for Syrian women in Za’atari refugee camp. UN Women has been operating in Za’atari camp since early 2013 and in these settings provides a range of services. Among other services, UN Women provides awareness raising sessions on domestic violence and early marriage.

In Vietnam, UNODC supported the revision of the penal code and penal procedure code, promoting the incorporation of relevant international standards and norms, especially concerning violence against women. Similarly, With UN Women, UNODC conducted a gap analysis of Viet Nam's Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code providing research findings and key UN joint recommendations for strengthening effective responses to violence against women to the National Assembly.

In Albania, UN Women has worked with civil society groups, the government and media to stop human trafficking that feeds the sex trade. A national campaign has raised awareness, including through a powerful anti-trafficking video broadcast on national television. A 30-member Advisory Media Forum supports professional and ethical reporting among journalists by providing information and training, and tracking gaps in accuracy of reporting. Since employment or small enterprise by women can be among the most critical elements of successful reintegration for trafficking survivors, UN Women has helped service providers in shelters stress economic empowerment as core to their assistance.

UN Women, as one of the partners of the public-private partneship Together for Girls (TfG), has contributed to global discussions around improved coordination between VAW and violence against children (VAC) data collection initiatives. UN Women has also been a key TfG partner in the development of the Every Hour Matters Campaign, a global advocacy campaign to increase awareness  about the critical importance of quickly accessing post-rape care. The partnership also includes other UN agencies, such as UNICEF, UNAIDS, WHO, PAHO and UNFPA. 

With the Sustainable Development Agenda committed to ending all forms of violence against women and girls, UN Women has led an initiative involving six other UN entities to create the Framework to Underpin Action to Prevent Violence against Women. It maps evidence-based and emerging practices in preventing violence, with a focus on addressing root causes, risk and protective factors.

Focusing on strengthening   political and institutional commitments, UN Women provided technical assistance in the drafting process of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (2016-2025), which was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in November, 2015. The plan addresses violence prevention, access to justice and services for survivors of violence, and speaks to the role of men and boys in ending violence against women, including through social norms change.

In Viet Nam in 2016, UN Women supports Legal Aid Department of Ministry of Justice to build a legal aid system sensitive to the needs of VAW survivors. This includes 1) technical assistance to legal drafters of the amended Legal Aid Law and to develop joint UN recommendations together with UNDP, UNICEF, UNODC, UNAIDS, highlighting gaps with international normative frameworks; and 2) support to develop a guideline for legal aid providers, reflecting the legislative changes of the criminal laws in 2015 and promoting gender-sensitive and survivor-centred response based on international standards. Materials developed through the support to Judicial Academy and UNODC's handbook for legal aid providers on domestic violence cases will be utilized for this purpose.

In Jordan, through the support of the Governments of Norway, UN Women - in partnership with UNFPA and UNICEF - implements the second phase of the joint project “Hemayati: Promoting Women and Girls’ Health and Well-being”. The project is also implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), Ministry of Health (MoH) and partner NGOs including the Jordanian Women Union and Un Ponte Per (UPP). The project’s overall aim is to increase sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) survivors’ access to comprehensive lifesaving protection services, including health, psychosocial and legal services. Building on a successful first phase (2013-2014), the second phase of the project is being implemented in five governorates of Jordan (Amman, Irbid, Zarqa, Mafraq and Maan) benefiting from the expertise of all participating UN agencies and partners. The objective is to bring all the services necessary for women and girls who have experienced violence in a one-stop shop to ensure that they receive quality, survivor-centered support when they need it most.

Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality organized a session on Ending Violence againt Women during the 15th Annual session of the IANWGE with panelists from UN Women and UNODC in March 2016.

The "Secretary-General Guidance Note on Reparations for victims of Conflict-related Sexual Violence" was launched in June 2014 by OHCHR and UN Women. The implementation of the note has been promoted in a number of contexts and has resulted into legislative revision (Kosovo), introduction of a specific reparation programme (Moldova) and pilot assistance programmes for victims (DRC).